Lucky Strike
by MissBesanii
Summary: With their recent success on their belt, more people are interested in joining the Iwatobi swim club. They get much more than they'd bargained for with the team of four! T for potential language?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Never written for Free! before. This is all entirely new and I'm certainly worried.**

**I should also make a point of saying I am not Japanese, and I'm not 100% certain of japanese culture, so I may be entirely wrong with some of this. If anybody sees a mistake regarding this, don't hesitate to correct me, I am still learning and trying hard to get it right. **

**Disclaimer: Free! does not belong to me, though the OCs do. I created them myself, and any similarity to another character is purely coincidental.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One - Starting Blocks<strong>

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><p>It was like nobody had really noticed any difference, and school went on as usual. They did not complain, but at the same time a dull pain irritated each of them in the back of their heads.<p>

They only wanted a little recognition.

"I suppose we only have ourselves to blame. If we hadn't been disqualified..."

The companions all glared at the speaker, and he didn't try to be optimistic again. His eyes drifted to the floor, a light smile still on his gentle face.

"We're not supposed to talk about it." Their spectacle-clad friend muttered, glancing around to see if anybody had heard. "For all they know, we just didn't get through."

"We'll do it next year, right Rei?" The smallest - and squeakiest- boy asked, his eyes boring into Rei's expectantly. They all make different sounds of affirmatives.

Though they had won their second heat in the relay race (and with very little in the way of competition, too), they had done so with a different team's swimmer on board, and therefore their win had been discounted. They couldn't say they regretted it either, not while it was still warm enough to swim in their outdoor pool at school. There was sure to come a time where they would curse the idea, but for now, they settled in the calming peace of a long-overdue reunion.

So with their 'loss' evident on their faces, the majority of the school had elected to steer clear of the subject so as not to rub the bad news in. For one particular member of their group, this could not be better news.

"I have literature first." Said group member muttered. "I'll see you later."

"I do too, Haru-Chan, wait up."

He did not wait, and the friend did not expect him to, instead running to catch up. "Sad it's all over?"

Haruka glanced up at his best friend and frowned. In a habitual gesture, he looked away and stared off into the distance as he replied. "Not really. It's not the last time we'll get to swim together."

"True."

They waited outside the classroom for their teacher, as was custom for their school. They still had a few minutes before the bell rang, though, and it made them one of the first pupils to arrive.

The girl in the front of the line turned to see who had joined her, her face brightened immediately. "Makoto-San, Haruka-San."

They glanced over at her, though they were both familiar with her being in their lesson, neither of them had spoken to her at all. She had a plain face, though with clear complexion and bright golden eyes that seemed to dance with her smile. Her most striking feature was her hair, though, as it was a deep green colour, and barely settled in a constant place as it was so thick and wavy.

Makoto, being the more social of the pair of them, smiled and nodded. "Hello Emiko-San."

"I just wanted to congratulate you for your win at the weekend." She beamed, her eyes crinkling in the corners. She failed to notice the look of surprise on her conversant's faces. "It's a shame they wouldn't let you go through to the next stage."

"Well, there's always next year." Makoto replied politely, at the same time as Haruka asking; "How do you know about that?"

A light tinge in her cheeks emerged as she laughed once. "I was there watching!" They didn't reply, allowing her to explain. "I'm part of a swimming club too, though a different kind of swimming..."

Haruka frowned, there hadn't been any female heats that day. He didn't bother to voice this fact though, instead he simply stared with his usual apathetic expression. Emiko was not too oblivious to notice, but most people were used to seeing very little expression on Haruka's face.

Upon spotting more peers arriving for class, she draws in closer to the two boys so they could hear her hushed tone. "Is there somewhere I can meet you at lunch? I have a business proposal."

"A business proposal?"

She hushes Makoto quickly, people were already looking over at them curiously. It was a universal truth that even the slightest shift in social groupings in an otherwise monotonous school usually stirred up a lot of gossip. Ayumi and Tamayo were already whispering, trying not to look in their direction to obviously.

"Uhh... Well we usually head for the pool at lunch..." Makoto tells her quietly, then looks at Haruka. "You could meet us there if you want?"

She forms a wide smile again. "Great, see you at lunch!" She tells them as the bell rings and Amakata lets them into the classroom.

"Wonder what she wants?" Makoto mutters at Haruka as they take their usual seat in the back corner of the class by the window.

Haruka made a non-committal shrug, then resumed his thoughts as he stared out of the window.

The hour and a half lesson dragged in a slow blur, and they left with a small pile of homework for them to do in the half term holidays. By break time after their second lesson, they'd had very little else to think about, and the business proposal was now making them unbearably curious.

"Doesn't she write for the school blog?" Nagisa asked when they had told him and Rei about the unusual conversation.

Rei shook his head; "That's Eiko Hirano." He explains, pushing his glasses up his nose. "They do know each other though..."

"I don't want everybody knowing we were disqualified!" Nagisa yelped, effectively doing the opposite of his words. Thankfully, nobody seemed to be listening. Haruka shot him a disbelieving glare, but he couldn't deny that he agreed.

"We don't have to tell her anything." He told them.

Makoto nodded. "Besides, she was there, what could she possibly want to know that she doesn't already?"

They all agreed, pushing that idea aside.

"Maybe Gou-Chan knows her." Rei offered. The problem was, she didn't usually meet them at break times, only at lunch, by which time they may have already pulled out clumps of hair in curiosity.

They ate in silence and headed for another hour and a half of lessons; Physical education for Makoto and Haruka, of which they spent one hour of the session running a large circuit around the entire school, and all they could think about was how they were dying to cool off in their outdoor pool.

"I suppose it's good stamina training." Makoto panted, glancing over as Haruka kept pace with him. They most certainly weren't the best at running, not being able to use their arms to aid their speed much, but they were definitely fitter than the majority of the class.

"It's a waste of time." Haruka replied, his voice uneven as his gait affected his breathing pattern. "I could be swimming and improving more effectively."

Makoto couldn't help but agree, they weren't built for marathons, but races. Still, they endured, and they had to admit it had taken their minds of the conversation they would be having at lunch.

The teacher dismissed them once they reached the changing rooms (they had come third and fourth in the class) and started getting into their uniform before the rest of the class had even returned.

Haruka, however, had other ideas.

"Seriously?"

The blue haired boy looked over his shoulder, staring innocently as his best friend perked a brow and made a point of looking at his swimming trunks.

"You're going swimming at lunch?"

"I'm not hungry." He shrugged, and having spent a useless hour of his day sweating out in a sport he did want to pursue, he was adamant he was going use the next hour doing something he actually enjoyed.

Makoto sighed, but couldn't help smiling. He wasn't surprised in the least, but he had to put up some form of protest, that's what friends were for.

They wandered across to where Rei and Nagisa's class was just coming to a close, and they all headed for the pool together. Rei noticed Haruka's hastily pulled on uniform and deduced what Makoto had already known.

"I might swim too, I could do with the practice." He muttered, catching the half smile in Haruka's eye as they climbed the steps into the pool's changing rooms.

Nagisa nudged him. "We've got a whole year to practice, you don't have to work so hard now!"

"How will I get better if I think like that, Nagisa-Kun?"

The blonde paused before he replied, (which was, in itself, a shock to the group). "We could do another desert island training regime!"

"No!" The other three replied together and without hesitation, then laughed at their panic. The disaster that had been their first training programme was something none of them wanted to repeat.

If there were a record for fastest person to strip off clothes, Haruka would undoubtedly hold it. He barely paused to hop out of his trousers and was mid dive as he threw his shirt aside. The excitement his otherwise indifferent friend had shown proved to be too much for Nagisa too, and he simply yanked off his clothes down to his boxers and followed, not thinking about the consequence of having no underwear to change into after. Rei shot a pleading look at Makoto, both of which seemed to have taken on the parental roles of the friendship group, and changed calmly into his swimwear.

"Do you want me to wait with you for Emiko-Kun?" Rei offered, but his eyeline kept wandering over to the pool where Nagisa was now holding a gangly-limbed handstand.

"You go practice," Makoto smiled, "as captain, I'll do the business."

"What business?"

They both turned to find their manager, Gou Matsuoka, sister of their former swimming partner, Rin Matsuoka. They hadn't spoken much during the old swimming days, but in the past year, Gou had become a staple point in the Iwatobi swim club. She was very much the reason they had gotten as far as they did in the heats this year, and certainly wasn't part of the reason they'd been disqualified.

Makoto explained the situation once more, watching as Rei hurried off and began his list of stretches.

"Emiko is a synchronised swimmer." Gou told him. "She trains somewhere just outside the city, I think. Quite good too, from what I've heard. I wonder what she wants?"

They stopped talking as they spotted her approaching, and Gou stood to greet her. "Emiko-Kun!"

"Hey!" The green haired girl grinned, hurrying over and placing her bag on the floor. She pulled out a small box, and in it she revealed a box of homemade cookies. "Would you like one?" The two standing with her did not refuse, for they looked amazing. It took mere seconds for Nagisa to catch on, and was heaving himself out of the pool to get to them. Feeling rude to not join them, Rei climbed out and yanked his towel from the railing, shortly followed by Haruka, who was loath to leave the serenity of the pool.

Being surrounded by a group of semi-nude males was something Gou had only just managed to get used to without regressing into a leering, drooling mess. Emiko, however, had turned bright red being in such close proximity to magnificently formed and glimmering wet abs, pecs and biceps.

"I guess I should just go ahead and ask, really." Emiko muttered, mainly to herself. The concept had seemed so simple in her head, yet she felt extremely rude and intruding now she was here proposing the idea. "Me and my two friends would like to join your swim club."

Eyebrows rose, and nobody knew really how to reply at first.

"We don't really have any administrative roles that need filling..." Rei finally voiced up, and Gou nodded in agreement. They already had a manager, captain, coach and supervisor.

"Well I..." Emiko stammered, wishing she hadn't bothered. "I meant as swimmers."

Again, they were all at a loss at how to respond. Unisex teams were unprecedented. It was just a rule that males and females did not swim together.

Before the silence went on too long, Emiko continued her persuasion. "We're already Synchro swimmers." She explained. "We just would like somewhere we could practice after school."

"We use the pool after school." Haruka finally voiced up, his protectiveness of the one thing he cherished kicking in. "There wouldn't be enough room for us all to practice in."

"Are you sure? It's a big pool?" Emiko countered, "and there are only four of you and three of us."

Though it was selfish, he couldn't help but think of the hours they had laboured over fixing their pool, and that she was asking to reap the benefits without the blood, sweat and tears. He had to remind himself that Rei had also done that, and they had made a very important friend and team mate in the decision. He settled for pursing his lips and looking away.

"Would we be classed as a club if we do two kinds of swimming though?" Nagisa wondered aloud. Gou nodded and glanced at Emiko, who shrugged.

"I'm guessing, technically, no. Though this could mean two different extra-curricular budgets from the school which we could use together. If you were to offer us your pool during the summer, we could pool our money together for joint spending."

This sounded like a promising prospect. The boys looked between one another in silent communication.

Seeing that she was getting somewhere, she continued her sales pitch. "I also have received confirmation of discounted indoor swimming pool use for the winter, which we could use together as a club."

"What? How? I tried everywhere for a decent price!" Nagisa whined, then laughed. "Haruka got a cold swimming in the pool early springtime." He stopped when said boy shot a dark look.

"I work there." She shrugged simply.

They went quiet to think, and Emiko offered more cookies around the group, hoping it would sweeten the deal for them just that little bit more.

"How about a trial?" The captain offered, knowing he was treading a careful line between the two arguments. Since none of his team objected, (whether or not it was because they had cookie in their mouth, he was not sure) he smiled at his idea.

Emiko nodded eagerly. "Really? That would be amazing!" She beamed a bright smile, then held out her hand as if to seal the deal. "Of course, the decision is entirely up to you. We could be a really awesome team though, we'd support you in your competitions, and you could see ours, if you wanted to of course-"

Makoto interrupted her rambling as politely as possible. "We'll be here after school today, or is that too soon?"

She shook her head frantically. "Oh no, we brought our swimwear in the hopes that you might offer!" With that, she stood, hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and left the cookies for them to finish. "Thank you, thank you so much!"

They watched her as she hurried through the changing room and there was a distinct squealing on the other side of the building. The three girls hurried past the fence, waving excitedly and making their way to the picnic area to eat.

"What have you done, Makoto..." Haruka sighed, then dove back into the pool for some peace and quiet.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two - Push off**

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><p>After lunch, things had become very exciting. They hastily walked for their classes together, chatting about Emiko's fantastic salesmanship.<p>

"I seriously think you're missing your calling." Her brunette friend, Shimizu Mori laughed, nudging her gently with her elbow.

"It's definitely going on my resume." She replied, waving as her third friend, Izumi Kumiko, split from the group and headed into her classroom.

The two carried on down the corridor at a light jog, hoping nobody would catch them and that they wouldn't be late. To their relief, they slipped into the end of the queue as their class filed into their biology lesson.

Their teacher had set the gruesome task of dissecting the heart of some poor creature and sketching what they found in the sections. Having to swallow down the horrific lumps in their throats, they gritted their teeth and got on with the assignment, neither really wanting to open their mouths to speak when they could taste the scent on their tongues.

The bell saved them from further documentation of something that was not meant to be found outside the ribcage, and they shot out of the class faster than humanly possible. Just one more lesson, they thought. One more hour and they could swim.

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><p><em>One more hour...<em>

Being on the top floor of the building, his eyes could settle on their pool and let him daydream for the entire lesson, as was usual for the final period. Makoto usually left him to it, knowing he would get more sense from the brick wall than when Haruka slipped into a dehydrated daze.

_I never liked history anyway. _He thought. _What a waste of an hour... _

Somewhere in the distance, the droning teacher lectured endlessly about ancient Rome; a place Haruka never intended to visit, let alone learn about. Makoto, however, was fascinated, and began chattering about it as they left the lesson.

"It's impressive, how advanced they were compared to the rest of the world at the time, right?" He looked at Haruka, but did not expect an answer. Instead he turned to look where he was going and carried on. "I mean, how cool would it be to go to Italy?"

Haruka nodded, though he did not agree. So many rivers and canals, and you're not allowed to swim in them.

"We should hurry to the pool, don't want to be late." Makoto suggested, smirking when his predictable best friend increased his pace automatically at the thought of swimming. It was almost too easy to manipulate him.

Nagisa and Rei were already there, the former humouring the latter by stretching with him. It was very unlike Nagisa to hold back from just jumping in the pool and complaining of pulled muscles later, and they wondered what Rei could possibly have said to persuade him to be sensible this once.

"Go and get changed, Mako-Chan!" Nagisa yelled as he yanked his ankle up to his bottom and wobbled on his supporting leg. Rei rolled his eyes and placed a hand against his shoulder, holding him up so he didn't end up falling over.

Haruka passed him as he returned to the changing rooms, having already been dressed for swimming beneath his uniform.

"Have you been in wet trunks all afternoon?" Makoto asked in disbelief, his blue haired friend's dedication never ceasing to amaze him.

"They dried within half hour." Haruka replied hotly, stomping off to the edge of the pool and diving in without pause.

Shaking his head, Makoto turned and jumped at the arrival of their new trial members. He recognised Shimizu Mori from a few of his lessons, and the younger girl looked familiar, but he was unsure of her name. Shimizu was a stereotypical tom boy looking sort of girl, with her sandy brown hair yanked into a messy ponytail and bangs brushed to one side, she was rarely seen wearing her blazer, and often told off for wearing her tie incorrectly. She'd abandoned it completely during the journey from class to the changing rooms. Izumi, however, was very much the opposite. Her uniform still immaculate, an impossibly symmetrical bow tucked under her collar and white frilly ankle socks sticking out over her Mary-Jane pumps. Her face was round and childlike, framed by straight, pale pink hair in a chin-length cut and bangs that tickled her eyelids. Her pale skin did nothing to add colour to her almost colourless complexion, but she was no doubt pretty in a youthful, cute way.

Emiko grinned. "Makoto-taichou! This is Shimizu and Izumi. We're all so excited for today's session!"

The other two nodded in agreement behind her, Shimizu flashing a winning grin, while Izumi settled for a shier smile.

"Welcome!" He nodded to the three of them, then gestured to the changing room. "I'm afraid we don't have separate changing rooms, but I'm sure we could sort out a blind of some sort in future..."

"That's fine. You get changed first, we can wait." Emiko insisted, feeling like she had to speak for the three of them while the formalities were still underway. Makoto agreed, hurrying in and changing quickly as Gou approached the three girls.

"Izumi-chan! I didn't know you were joining!" The red head said with delight, clasping Izumi's hand and pulling it up between them. "I can't tell you how nice it is to be having some girls on the team! Far too much testosterone around here."

"I don't know... It has it's plus sides..." Shimizu muttered, carefully watching as Makoto wandered out toward the pool clad in tight ankle length trunks and his open swim club jacket. They couldn't help but giggle.

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><p>Having finally gotten changed and pulled their hair up out of the way, they stepped out together, towels at hand and met with the current Iwatobi swim club. Gou had obviously been planning all afternoon, and started her speech the moment they were through with introductions.<p>

"Okay, so I figured since it's our first day back from the relay race and we have trial members, we should go back to basics. I made a note of your techniques and bad habits of late, and so our old exercises should stamp them out. This also gives our trial members a chance to see what we do. Okay?"

They all made sounds of assent, and their manager grinned. Pulling out her schedule, she ordered them into four lanes, one of which was alone. Haruka had made a point of choosing the end lane, and shrugged when Gou suggested he did two laps instead of one.

The first four stepped up onto the starting blocks, the regular members clutching the edge, though Izumi and Emiko stood tall upon them.

Gou, who was completely thrown by the strange preparation, glanced sideways at Rei and Nagisa, who were waiting for their turn at the side. They too looked surprised, but Shimizu did not look phased at all. With a gentle shrug, the manager called for them to be ready, (to which the two males tensed) and blew the whistle. The girls bent their knees and pushed their heads forward, then sprung like an adder striking from it's coiled position, barely making a splash at all as they broke the surface.

It was usually Haruka they watched, but they all found themselves watching this foreign type of swimming, clearly not made for speed, but for grace. Not once did they break the surface until they reached the starting wall, and even then it seemed like it was only because they'd finished their length.

"Do they have gills?" Nagisa gasped, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"I feel like I'm drowning just watching them..." Rei muttered.

Shimizu giggled behind them. "It's what we do, you train to be strong and powerful in your strokes, we train our breathing so we can be submerged for longer."

Haruka hopped out with ease and stepped back onto the starting block, nodding to Nagisa as he took the lane next to him. "It's like they're fish, Haru-Chan!"

"Fish don't hold their breath." He replied quietly, but Nagisa laughed.

"Like a dolphin, then!"

Haruka couldn't reply, with Gou already calling to get ready, he clutched the edge of the starting block and tensed.

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><p>Within the hour, Gou had finished her strict training regime and had given up trying to conclude the session as Nagisa had become far too excitable about the new type of swimming.<p>

"Can you show us?" He cried, dancing around Izumi and stepping on Shimizu's foot. He barely paused his pleading to apologise. "Please? Please!"

They all looked at Emiko, who shrugged and hurried for the pool, jumping high in the air and barrel rolling fowards to dive in feet first. Shimizu laughed and sprung with one foot onto a starting block and swan diving after her.

Izumi glanced back at Gou, a light frown on her face. "You don't mind, do you?"

The red head shrugged. "Go ahead, I'd finished here anyway."

She nodded back at her and performed a simple, but elegant dive and swam to meet her team mates. With very little communication between them, they rolled onto their backs and lifted their right legs into the air. Having no music to use, they watched each other, keeping an easy rhythm going between themselves. They submerged, Shimizu and Emiko crouching low in the water, but careful not to touch the bottom as Izumi placed her feet onto their shoulders. With a slight nod from Emiko, they beat their legs down and threw Izumi into the air above, moving aside with a quick roll to get out of the way of Izumi's landing space. Their legs once again rose out of the water, bending in impressive formations at exactly the same time, then all of a sudden they rippled on after the other, like dominoes. Forming a triangle, they took each others left leg and bent the right knee into the air, their spare arms rotating them gently until, without any indication, they broke apart. Still in a triangle, they threw one arm up in the air, then brought it across their heart and bowed the heads in a finale.

When they looked up, they could see the swim club had been stunned into silence. Nagisa's mouth hung open stupidly, whilst Rei's eyes seemed to glisten with tears. Haruka looked on the verge of saying something with a frown on his face and Makoto wore a huge grin on his face, being the first to clap. The others joined in quickly. The excitement proved to be too much for Nagisa, and he ran for the pool.

Everything moved too quickly for anybody to process properly. Rei yelled something about running by the pool, Shimizu had tried to lunge forward, a yelp of warning just passing her lips, but the blond boy tucked his legs up as he jumped, bombing into the pool. It was only as he hit the water did he realise his mistake; Emiko had been swimming for the edge and hadn't seen him coming until he was landing on top of her.

He moved aside immediately, blabbering apologies as he hoisted her up. Her hand had already flown to her mouth as she surfaced, and she made a half giggle-gasp as she tried to decide whether to cry or not. Tentatively, she looked down at her hand.

The noise was instantaneous. Shizmizu squealed, Nagisa recoiled in horror and his voice volume escalated in panic.

"It's okay!" Emiko said, turning to look at Nagisa as he burst into tears. "It's just a nosebleed!" She insisted.

A pair of hands scooped under armpits, pulling her out of the pool and steering her for the changing rooms. It wasn't until she was sat on the bench did she see it was Haruka who had pulled her from the madness.

Gou came walking briskly in with a determined look on her face and a green toolbox in hand. To Emiko's shame, it had a large white cross on the top.

"I'm so sorry Emiko, I didn't see you-"

"Is there anything I can get you?"

"Should I get a teacher?"

"Maybe we should call her parents?"

"Everybody get out!" Haruka suddenly blurted, and even though he was fairly quiet about it, he had in certain tone to his voice that nobody dared to ignore. When they all went quiet he lowered his voice to his usual, calm one. "Makoto, can you get a towel please? Gou, we're going to need some ice pops. There's some money in my trousers."

"Ice pops?" She began to question, but Makoto urged her to just do as he asked with a gentle shove against her back.

Everybody else reluctantly left the room, hovering at the door in case they were needed. When Makoto gently wrapped her in a towel, he left as well.

All the while, Haruka had been pinching Emiko's nose and mopping the excess blood from under it. She stared at the empty space above his head, feeling extremely awkward.

"Do you know what happened?" He asked quietly as he pulled out an anti-septic wipe one-handedly from the packet and dabbed it at her lip. She hissed before she began to speak.

"Nagisa landed on my back," she told him, patting her lower right side. "So I slammed into the pool wall, nose first. I get nosebleeds anyway." She told him.

"I don't think it's just your nose." Haruka muttered, he didn't tell her more as he let go of her nose and wiped his hands. "I'm going to need you to breathe through your mouth while the blood clots." He told her. She nodded once, the muttered an apology when he told her not too move her head too much.

As he dabbed away at her, she stayed quiet and cringed away in her mind. What a fine first lesson.

"Your lip is cut, but I've cleaned it. It's not a very deep one." He decided.

"Thank you." She muttered feebly, feeling pitiful and ridiculous.

He nodded once, the began to run his hand along her forehead. "Are you feeling sick at all?"

"A little." She replied honestly. "But I think he winded me, really."

Haruka pursed his lips, the stood up to wash his hands. "You might need to go to the emergency room."

She looked at him exasperatedly. "You said it was just a small cut and a nosebleed!"

"It could be concussion too." He replied. "It's better to have yourself checked over."

"At the hospital." She groaned.

He stayed quiet, not sure what to say. He had made his verdict. Gou saved him the argument, returning with a box of Popsicles.

"They only had a multi-pack." She shrugged, not surprised by the turnout, with it being late summer. She held the box out to him, and he pulled one packet out.

"Give the rest to them." He gestured to the crowd edging their way around the door slowly, and Gou shooed them all out again.

"Here."

Emiko jumped, looking up at the blue haired boy who was holding half a popsicle out to her. She took it, mumbling a thanks, then frowned down at it. Instead of explaining it to her, he moved her hand to place the ice over her cut lip, and the effect was instantaneous.

"Try and breathe through your mouth." He said, then stuck his half of the popsicle in his mouth.

"Easier said than done with an ice pop in my mouth." She muttered under her breath, then stood with a sigh.

A hand came down on her shoulder. "Sit." Haruka ordered.

"I have to put clothes on." She told him. "I can't go to the hospital in my swimming costume."

He glanced down at her white and silver one-piece, realising she had a point. She snorted, to which came a fantastic second nose bleed, and headed for the changing rooms with a tissue pressed against her nose.

ER. She cringed as she headed to do the inevitable; call her parents. Though perhaps the emergency room wasn't such a bad idea, verticality was not a good feeling for her, and she decided to skip the phone call and head straight for the toilets.

A hand came down on her back and rubber gently another pulling a stray strand of hair from her glistening forehead As she dry heaved.

"Sorry." She muttered weakly once she was sure her nausea had subsided. Izumi shook her head, eying the cut on Emiko's lip.

"Haruka-Kun thinks you should go to hospital."

Emiko nodded slightly, regretting the quick movement immediately. "I think he's right."

Izumi stayed quiet for a moment while Emiko made her way for her clothes. "Would you like me to come?"

"Nah... I'm going to call Mom."

"I'll do it." Shizumi muttered as she poked her head around the cubicle. "Help her get dressed." She added to Izumi, who agreed.

* * *

><p>Nagisa, who had taken quite a bit of scolding and had since been in bits with guilt, had finally managed to calm down as the girls gave them the okay to enter.<p>

"Since when were you good with first aid, anyway, Haruka?" Makoto asked, only really questioning it now because he'd never seen his closest friend take over a situation like this before. Thankfully, not many opportunities had arisen anyway.

Haruka stayed quiet. His eyes flashed up at Makoto, then away to Rei. It was the latter who understood first.

"Since the training camp, right?"

Again, he decided to say nothing. The others took it as an affirmative, and exchanged glances. Makoto simply smiled and patted him on the back, putting his emotions across that way rather than voicing how truly touched he was by the news.

Once dressed, they walked out to hear distant yelling. It seemed Emiko's parents weren't too happy about the news of her accident.

"I know, I was stupid." She pleaded, having now taken over the phone call before Shizumi could inform them that it was, in fact, Nagisa's fault. "I slipped and fell face first into the pool. I should have been looking where I was going."

"Emiko-san-"

She pushed a hand into Nagisa's face before he could object, continuing the conversation with her mother and then hanging up.

"They're on their way."

"I'm really sorry, Emiko-san!" Nagisa rambled as he took her hand and squeezed it. "You're not too hurt, are you?"

She smiled at him and shook her head. "Stop worrying, I'll be fine."

Shizumi grinned and threw a hand over her friend's shoulder. "She's a complete clutz anyway, if you didn't do it she would have managed to do it to herself eventually."

This seemed to brightened the blond haired boy's mood considerably, though he still looked ashamed.

"She's here." Izumi said quietly, heading out the door and holding it for them. Shizumi grinned and waved at Emiko's mother, who politely returned the gesture but looked far too rigid to be sincere when her bleeding daughter hopped into the car.

They all watched as she pulled on her seatbelt, turned too look at them and wave as her mother pulled away.

"Well..." Rei muttered. "We can't really say no now, can we?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - Submerged**

* * *

><p>The clicking was driving the class insane. One girl kept sending frequent pointed glares his way but there was no chance of him noticing when his mind was on one thing only.<p>

_Two more minutes... _

They'd made him wait until their lunch time until he demanded answers, and the morning had instantly become a long, painful drag as he tortured himself with guilt.

His pen continued to clatter side to side under his hand, to his peer's despair.

_What if it's serious_? He groaned quietly and inwardly, brushing off his classmate's concern when he asked about his well being.

"I'm fine." He said. Which was true, he was worrying about somebody else's health.

_One more minute..._

Izumi would have told him by now if she knew something was wrong. He was sure of it. She kept glancing in his direction, but it was more about the annoying clicking than anything else.

"Ow..." He muttered, his hand instinctively pressing at the back of his head.

"Will you quit it?" Rei hissed from behind him, having been the source of the thrown pencil.

"I can't help it, I-"

"Ahem! The lesson has not finished yet, Nagisa-Kun." Their teacher said sharply.

Abashed, the blonde turned back around and bowed his head slightly. "Yes, sorry."

"She would have said something before the lesson if it were serious." Rei breathed behind him once the teacher turned her back and continued to lecture.

Nagisa nodded, but chewed on his lip nonetheless. "What if she doesn't know? What if Emiko is so injured she's still in the hospital and hasn't managed to contact anybody?" He imagined her with a nebuliser and cardiac monitor hooked up to her body. It made his throat tighten up and his eyes water for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Nagisa!"

He spun around and turned bright red at the annoyed look on their teacher's face, a look he so often received, but usually for when he was being mischievous. The startled, watery look he returned her seemed to surprise her, but she still made him stay behind after the lesson.

"I'll wait for you outside." Rei muttered, yanking up his backpack and shuffling out of the room.

* * *

><p>Emiko's disappearance that day hadn't caused much of a stir with the school, and it was Shimizu's idea to keep it that way. What did cause a stir, however, was when Nagisa stormed into the canteen and slapped his bag on her table.<p>

"Have you heard from her?" He demanded loudly.

Shimizu blinked, taking a second to realise what he was talking about. "Yeah, she got home early this morning. Her parents wouldn't let her come to school today."

The blond sighed, sinking onto the bench opposite her. Rei slipped next to him, having only just caught up to him.

"I did wait for you, Nagisa-Senpai, the least you could do is wait for me." He muttered.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Nagisa whined, slapping his lunch onto the table. "I've been tearing my hair out with worry!"

"Perhaps next time you'll be more careful around the pool." Izumi muttered as she joined the table, to which the boys both glared at her.

"Nagisa has apologised for his actions, there's no need to keep chastising him." Rei replied hotly, not noticing the look of surprise and admiration coming from the boy he was defending. Instead he kept cool eye contact with Izumi, who blushed and dropped her gaze.

"You're right, sorry."

"It's fine!" Nagisa practically sang, now he'd heard good news about Emiko, the weight of guilt was not so heavy to bear. "I've learnt my lesson!"

"Well that's what you come to school for."

The four turn and find Haruka and Makoto waiting for them to scoot along the benches, which they do so automatically. It was Haruka who made the remark, and Makoto had tittered at the characteristic sarcasm.

"Hello, Makoto-Taichou, Haruka-San." Shimizu smiled brightly as the former slid onto the bench next to her, the latter taking the opposite Bench next to Rei.

"Hi," Makoto grinned, "have you spoken to Emiko-San?"

Both girls nodded, relaying the message to the rest of the swim club too.

"Did she have concussion?" Haruka asked as he started on his own lunch.

Izumi nodded. "Only mild, but they suggested that she rests for a day or two."

"I should go and see her!" Nagisa decided, his eyes lighting up. "I could take her some food or something to tell her I'm sorry."

Shimizu glanced to Izumi, who shrugged. "That's probably not a good idea."

Nagisa pouted. "Why?"

Again, the girls looked at each other, and it was Izumi who answered. "She'll be sleeping a lot, it wouldn't be nice to disturb her."

"Yeah, she'll be back soon. You can apologise then." Shimizu added.

Rei frowned, his eyes wandering over to Makoto, who also looked puzzled. It seemed that he was not the only one to notice the falseness of their excuse. Neither of them the type to pry, they chose to swallow down their curiosity with their lunch, and the topic of conversation moved from Emiko to swimming with relative ease.

* * *

><p>Never one to give up, Nagisa began to ask where Emiko lived on the train journey home. This proved fruitless, as both of them insisted he should leave it. Eventually Rei had to offer a middle ground, knowing he would never hear the end of it if the girls got off the train and left him with an empty handed Nagisa.<p>

"Why don't you text her?" He suggested, then looked at Izumi. "She wouldn't be disturbed and Nagisa can apologise."

Again with their glance between each other, Nagisa failed to notice anything with this new idea dazzling his one track mind, but Rei was starting to itch with curiosity.

"As long as you promise to only text her. Don't call and wake her up." Shizumi pointed her finger at the blond in question. He placed a hand on his chest and the other in the air.

"I swear!"

And they passed over her number, along with their own while they were on the topic.

* * *

><p><em>"Emiko-Chan! Nagisa here, how are you feeling?" <em>

She sighed, if she was honest with herself, she felt lousy and bored. She'd spent the morning cleaning the house, the afternoon catching up on homework and by three she had nothing to do but dwell on the fact that her friends would be enjoying the late summer afternoon in the pool. Her mother returned home from work to scold her for doing chores when she should have been resting. By five, she was truly sulking as she'd had to call in sick to work, and was confined to her bedroom.

"_I'm very well, thank you! How was swimming?" _

Throwing her phone aside, she wandered for the bathroom and be an to pour herself a bath.

He replied quickly.

_"Uneventful! LOL!"_

She smiled, but before she could write back answer, he'd sent another text.

"_I'm really sorry about yesterday. When are you coming back?"_

Her parents wouldn't be able to force her to stay off school, she would fall behind in her lessons. With this reassuring thought in mind, she typed back quickly.

"_Tomorrow!"__  
><em>

* * *

><p>With a joint project to start on, Haruka had offered Makoto dinner for the night so they could spend and evening un distracted from thei homework. Feeling too lazy to make anything, they settled on a pizza.<p>

"Haru?"

Blue eyes shift up from the book full of research, and Makoto purses his lips before he speaks. "You don't mind the girls joining the club, do you?"

Haruka sighed, propping a leaf of scrap paper in the book he was reading and standing up. "Why?" He asks as he wanders for the kitchen. Makoto hurries out after him to explain.

"Well, you didn't seem all that positive about it, is all."

He realised as he said it, when you think of words to describe his best friend, positive wasn't necessarily at the top of the list. Usually that attribute was associated with himself. Haruka's eyes glistened with a ghost of a smile.

"It will have it's perks, letting them join."

Makoto laughed, "do you mean having girls around, or the indoor pool?"

Instead of dignifying the ridiculous question with an answer, Haruka pulled out the pizza from the oven and shoved the cutter into Makoto's hand.

"What do you think?" He muttered as fetched them some drinks.


End file.
